How to Use SoapCalc (it's easy!)

If you're getting into soap making, one of the first things you'll need to learn is how to calculate your recipes using a soap calculator. I've used SoapCalc (www.soapcalc.net/calc/soapcalc...) for years, so here's a quick video walking you though how to plug a recipe into SoapCalc to turn a recipe written in percents into a recipe you can make!
The soap recipe I'm using in this tutorial can be found at www.humblebeeandme.com/lots-lo....
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[@michaelshawnyarns1157]

I cannot explain how thankful I am for this extremely simple tutorial. This is how every soapcalc tutorial should be

[@LadyBlueAzure]

Thanks for the help! Most people I watch/read just say 'plug in your recipe' and I'm just like how I don't even know what the hell any of this means. But you really made a lot of sense.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad to help! Happy soaping :)

[@chiomaifekwunigwe1299]

@es johnson no

[@chiomaifekwunigwe1299]

Hi

[@Iamcarole]

@@HumblebeeAndMehi, did you have to discount some of the water for the clay or let’s say any additives like turmeric?

[@user-up3zx1mm5m]

you have no idea how helpful this was. I have been making soap for 10 years and was always scared to use a soap calculator. I thought I would never figure it out. I came across a recipe on a soap forum and started making it and realized they didn't include the lye and water percentage. I had no choice but to figure it out. You have helped me tremendously. thank you.

[@michellewhite6992]

Hi this is where im so confused and still am after this video. I must be so dumb 😅 i didnt understand the water part she left it on the chart, leave it at that she said. How do i calculate the water content im so lost.

[@ambers7902]

Thanks Marie ! I have to admit, I did get stuck on the soap calculator, and the video helped me become less intimidated by it ! Also I loved hearing your voice for the first time ! The videos are a great addition to your blog and I am happy for your up coming book release !

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thanks so much, Amber! I hope we can get you diving into soap making in no time :)

[@USSBARBEL]

Young lady, I just fell in love all over again, LOL! Thank you so much for breaking this down so simply. I should have spent this six minutes 5 months ago! I was so frustrated I quit.. well, just pushed it away. Been trying to make a recipe for the last 2 weeks but didn't have a good grasp of the calculators and this just looked, honestly... intimidating. I'm really excited to put this to practice now. Owe you one!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so thrilled you found it helpful! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making :)

[@jmarechiga]

Lovely! Thanks for taking the time to share this, I’ll try making my first batch soon. 😊

[@beritblackie3168]

From a wee housewife in England: thank you SO much for explaining this in a not-at-all intimidating way😁 I actually think I can do it now! Please keep posting, you have a real knack at explaining things 👍🌷

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so thrilled you found it helpful! Thanks for watching :)

[@missinmyaaron]

OMG!! Thank you so much! This is by far the best explanation of SoapCalc that I have seen. Clear and precise, I love it! Thank you

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it helpful! ❤️

[@IvanEarache]

Thank you. I was so confused by the site and now I understand it. So simple. ❤️

[@mayraflores6356]

Oh My Gosh!!!! Thank you so much for this video. Soapcalc has been such a pain for me and this video jus cleared up so much. Thanks.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Happy to help!

[@paula15457]

Thank you for this video. It help me so much to understand the soap calculator

[@ampp3692]

Hi Marie, I love your videos, your blog, I've followed you for a long time, thank you for everything!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thanks, Am! :D

[@MaddyPaige-et2hn]

Gosh this was such a helpful video, thank you so much for making this!

[@josalyn3783]

This helped me out so much. I've been wanting to make my own soap recipe with oils that I already have and ones that aren't impossible to make. I couldn't understand how to do that but that's no more thanks to your video. :)

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so happy you found it helpful :) Happy soaping!

[@carolp5993]

Thank you so much for this easy to understand explanation! New to soap making and I was so intimidated by the Soap Calc appiication. This was the best video I could find!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@thecrazysoaplady2497]

One of the best videos on how to use soapcalc.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thank you!

[@sasha7765]

I finally understand, thank you so much !! Great video ~

[@zwaag1132]

I really appreciate you explaining it for us, I was always unsure about how to go about using a soap calculator.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it helpful!

[@MrChrisMiner]

Thank you for such a wonderful tutorial! 😊

[@hadassahmiller5189]

This was the best explanation I've seen so far. Thank you very much!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thanks for watching!

[@Mage0Hallow]

What an amazing tutorial! thank you so much....you totally made this easy peasy to understand.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thanks for watching!

[@adestalitta186]

Thank you so much Marie for sharing this soap calc..

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it helpful :) Happy soaping!

[@marlenefabro6413]

Thank you so much for making a video on how to use the Soap Calc. I found it so intimidating, but you have made it look so simple! I can't wait to start making my own recipes! I love your blog and recipes. Where can I enter my suggestions for future video topics?

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Happy to help, Marlene! You can leave your suggestions right here, or on my Facebook page (facebook.com/HumblebeeAndMe).

[@dawnalbin4371]

This was so helpful. I was so lost and with our video, now I understand these recipes I am seeing online. Thank you so much.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@caylyncarrillo4124]

Thank you so much for this!! Question about goat milk If I do a 10 lb (175 oz) recipe would I still only put 4 oz of goat milk or more goat milk? Anyone know? Thanks so much for your help!

[@therealpepperbarkley2498]

Thank you for explaining this!

[@poojhakarthikeyan7343]

Thanks for the video.. what if we are using frozen milk for making lye solution in the recipe..should we measure the milk instead of the water measurement? Please reply

[@triciastephen3137]

Thanks for sharing 😘how do you calculate the amount of oils needed for the oil batch size? Thanks

[@victoriaboulay6952]

Do you know what would be put into the field "Water as a % of Oils" when making Liquid Soap? (90%KOH) ...thank you for your help.

[@iamjordanjayy]

THANK YOU!!! I want to hug you for this!!

[@mrsmadtux]

Awesome tutorial! Thanks for sharing!!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thanks for watching!

[@Skylightatdusk]

Do I handle superfatting correctly? I usually add superfat in addition to the base oils. Ex. If I superfat at 5% for a recipe that requires 1,000 g oil, the total oil used is 1,050 g. Should I rely only on the calculator’s lye discount?

[@leanegarden6997]

Thank you for the video. I have one question. If I'm making 2 kilograms of a batch of oils and want to add 60 Gr fragrance weight, shall I discount this from the 2 kg or add the 60 Gr to the 2 kg. In other words, should the total weight be 2 kg with the fragrance weight? Or should the total weight be 2 kg and 60 Gr all together?

[@mrsparrish10]

Thanks so much for this recipe I was having major issues figuring it out

[@naturegirl175]

Thank you this was so helpful. I can't wait to try and make some soap.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Happy soaping!

[@johanssonstudio]

Thank you Marie not only for teaching me how to use the soap calculator but for all your wonderful recipes. I've been on my journey to be chemical free for a little over a year now and you have made that journey so much easier and a lot more fun!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thanks so much, Karen! Happy making 😄

[@lixandraspartan5355]

Im new to this and you’re an amazing teacher. God bless you ❤️

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thank you so much! Don't forget to check out my blog (humblebeeandme.com) as well-I've been blogging since 2011 while I’ve only been on KZbin since about 2016, so there are a lot more formulations on the blog. The blog is also where my totally free ingredient encyclopedia and FAQ live, and they're both packed with tons of super-helpful information ❤️ Happy making!

[@Lovestgroup]

So Marie, how do you know which butters and oil are comparable in making a great bars. So let’s say, for sensitive skins or acne face you want to make soap for. Which butters and oils are good. Do you research to find out which are good together?

[@_LifewithLiv]

Thank you for this video! Straight to the point and common sense easy! My brain doesn’t hurt anymore! Thanks!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it helpful! Happy soaping :)

[@mandybaby26]

Wow this was so helpful and easily understood. Thank you!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@lnorth3560]

This is so tremendously helpful, I have been intimidated by soap calc a long time, this just made it easy.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it useful :) Happy soaping!

[@swathipriya1164]

Thanks marie it was very clear ....By seeing ur tutorial i easily understand how to calculate a own receipes

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad! Happy soaping :D

[@sandrabarbera1222]

Hi I need to ask. I found a recipe I want to try ok. It slightly bigger that what I want so I want to resizes in onz. Once you put the amount of onz you are making in soapcalc, even if I put the amounts of this recipe that is slightly bigger where the oils are it will calculate for me in base of the amount of onz I want to make once I press calculate? Thank you am just very newbie an am confused

[@777VIBRANT]

Thank you. You explained very well, which helped me out so much.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found this useful!

[@markandrewgaor8239]

Hello there ,is it ok for the water percentage to be 33% to a 100 g of oil? or should I make it lesser?

[@candyr4362]

Is it ok to leave the fragrance oil section blank and calculate recipe. Then, use the essential oil calc (eocalc.com) or Brambleberry fragrance calculator, plug in the weight of the soap into the calculator and use the % recommendations for the soap recipe? If I choose not to plug in the fragrance I calculated in eocalc or bramble berry into soapcalc affect the recipe overall?

[@justus2390]

Best break down thank you

[@nomadismileseeker6611]

How does the soap weight before cure translate to how much will fit in your mold? If 936 g of oil weight fit in my mold will I not end up with more than my mold can hold with water and lye?

[@emmelinastork3283]

This is such a great video! I wonder. If I wanted to choose the ingredients for medicinal purposes. Would it still work? Does it matter how much of any oil from the list I choose? Could I choose equal quantities. Limits on how creative I want to be? Also I didn’t see the essential oils on the recipe? Many thanks!!

[@YellowPineappleHoyas]

Thanks for the tutorial! It really clarified the lye ration.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it useful!

[@sorayashahi]

I'm a little confused. If I have a mold that can hold 3 Lb., why does it give me a total of 4.5Lb when I enter the recipe? I know it's including the lye and water but how do I deduct it? Because otherwise it doesn't fit.

[@rossanatutorials2738]

Thank you so much for posting this video, now i really understand what superfat means. Question can i calculate 0% and add 5% extra oils or is this gonna affect my recipe? Hope you can give me an answer, once again thanks o lot.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

You will want to calculate your entire recipe at 5% superfat to ensure you actually get a 5% superfat; simply adding an extra 5% of oils by weight will not result in a 5% superfat unless the oil you add has exactly the same SAP value as the average SAP of all the oils you are calculating the recipe at.

[@rossanatutorials2738]

Humblebee & Me thank you so much for taking your time to answer me...! Now i understand even better thanks to you. PS your videos are awesome 👍

[@KarenWirtz]

Fantastic tutorial! Thank you so much :)

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it helpful 😃

[@gabrielrocha8841]

Thanks a lot for this video! I just have one question: can we find any scientific proof that the "quality of the soap" table is really accurate? I mean, on articles, websites, etc. Thanks again!

[@dinniesougaijam]

This is very helpful info. Thanks much

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aghsan2007]

Thanks a lot it really helped me understand how to use the soap calculator 💝

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad! Happy soaping :)

[@juquetiajones4089]

How did you come up with the percents to plug in? I am very new to this so I am learning literally everything 😊

[@kindayoussef6686]

Thank you very much I was not sure how to use this tool, MERCI BEAUCOUP

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

You're welcome! :)

[@deidrycustodio8686]

VERY HELPFUL!! Great for beginners like me 😙😙😙 Thank you

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Happy to help-have fun soaping!

[@big_yam]

This is helpful as heck! Thank you!!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

You're so welcome-happy soaping!

[@lindamorse7107]

Thank you. Lol I was so confused, but I think I can figure it out now!

[@Jessip1877]

Thank you!!! I've been watching so many videos and could not figure out how to use Soap Calc.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad I could help!

[@umnia3551]

Please.. What the best namber of water in soap calculator for cold method?

[@creakyvalley]

Great video! But I'm confused. Did you mean to say essential oils or fragrance oils when talking about the amount you adjust the calculator for? An ounce per pound of essential oil to fat seems a bit much. Thanks for your great videos.

[@candiceford88]

Thanks so much for the video. Uber helpful !

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad-happy soaping!

[@MandaTheMoonChild]

Thank you :) Just what I needed!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Happy to help, and happy soaping!

[@icecreamladydriver1606]

Thanks so much. It was like a foreign language every time I would look at it but you totally cleared it up for me. Now I think I can start making my own recipes.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found it useful!

[@Loveforfamily_5050]

How did you came by the percentage of oils in the soapcalc ?

[@amberwhite6086]

Thank you! So helpful!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@GirlLikeTash]

Thank you so much!

[@marviareid2190]

Great video

[@tiaraboyer7710]

How do you determine what oils to put in your soap?.

[@Skylightatdusk]

What fat name will best represent solid palm oil shortening please?

[@ceciliafuentes3299]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

My pleasure!

[@firebug_shevmac8711]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I was about to give up! Thank you.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad I could help!

[@jobo00725]

Great video, really well explained , I was getting a little frustrated, really want to create my own recipes rather than following others.

[@siekye023]

Thank you so much for the video! I was wondering where on the calculator can you put extra additives like clay or charcoal, etc. Or does that even change/effect the amounts of fats, oils, etc. in the recipe?

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

If the ingredient isn't a lipid or lye, it doesn't need to go into the calculator :) For most add-ins there are rules of thumb (30g EO per 500g fats, 1 tbsp clay per 500g fats, etc.), but many of those can be ignored at your discretion haha. If you go overboard with exfoliants all you're likely to get is a soap that's way too scrubby-it won't break :)

[@mariangies]

Hi, thanks so much I needed this. If I don't have castor oil can I substitute with mango butter?

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I wouldn't recommend it-you CAN, but castor oil is very special in the world of soaping, contributing both amazing lather and moisturizing. Mango butter won't do those things. It'll still be soap, but it won't be as nice :)

[@jbenton220]

I'm a newbie and soap calc terrifies me. Ive been using recipes from other places bc I couldn't figure this out. You explained this so well and even explained the superfat. Which I had no clue what that meant. Thank you so much for making this simple.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad it was helpful! ❤️ Happy soaping!

[@MyJoshywoshy]

Really helpful thank you. I couldn’t understand any of it before watching this video

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Glad it helped!

[@garciaindriani]

Hey Marie! Im still a newbie when it comes to soapmaking but im really interested in making your shea butter and citrus shampoo bar for my curly hair and got all the ingredients ready. ive calculated everything using the soap calculator.. BUT the thing that got me confused is the weight of the lye. so from the calculator its stated that i have to use 68.67 grams.. does it have to be THAT accurate? what will happen if i miss just a little bit (e.g 68.5gr) or accidentally add a little bit more (e.g 68.8gr)?

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Hey Gracia! To the nearest gram is fine; I tend to round down just to be extra safe, so I'd recommend 68g for this recipe :) No need to worry quite that much, which is nice! Happy soaping!

[@DDDEVO1]

can you elaborate on the percentages? How did you come up with them (in the actual recipe)

[@thavylor]

Thank you. Very helpful for a beginner.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I"m so glad you liked it!

[@magdalenareynolds6779]

Thank you so much.

[@1sinister80]

This is a great video thank you.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Thanks for watching!

[@SheOnPurpose]

Hello! Thanks for the video! What if I don’t want to use fragrance? Do I leave it at 0? Thanks ☺️

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Yup!

[@fallenangeltattoosllc4921]

So if my mold holds 40 oz of soap is that the same amount of oil weight I add on soap cal? It says something on there about total weight after HP CP ? Sorry I am a bit confused! Thank you for the information on how to use it overall.

[@cathymontgomery7295]

40 ounces is the total weight of the batch. You need to subtract the weight of the water and lye to find the oil weght

[@jasmineseymour5142]

Hello, thanks for the video.I'm still confused about the superfat and fragrance. Some people told me hot process soap to add the extra oil when the soap is finished cooking. Set superfat to 0 on calculator multiply the total amounts of oil by 0.05 that will be 5% superfat. 60 g fragrance oil will this work for essential oils too?? I don't want any irritation.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm afraid I don't make hot processed soap much, so I'm hardly an expert but I would probably add the superfat to the batch at the start to ensure it is thoroughly incorporated as cooked hot process soap is a beast to blend new ingredients into. The amount of fragrance or essential oils you use is entirely dependent on the size of your batch, so 60g could be way too much, not enough, or just right; I would use 60g of essential oils for 1kg of fats, and less fragrance as fragrance is much more potent :)

[@edperry4235]

Good job. Thank you!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Happy soaping!

[@No.Bitchin.In.Dianas.Kitchen]

Thank you so much for making this video! How would I know how much percent of each oils to use? Thank you again.

[@abbeywoods296]

Go by the wait of your mould say example you have a 500g mould you will want 500g of oils I believe (:

[@beautybeastofthemoon]

I'm new to soap making and I want to do shampoo bars too...does this work for that too? By just adjusting the ratios to make it more moisturizing or is it different?

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

CP shampoo bars typically have more castor oil than soap (10-20% instead of ~5%), but that's about it. That said, I've used almost every bar of CP soap I've used as a shampoo bar as well and I've never really noticed much of a difference :P

[@jeramietolbert6699]

Thank you!!! Question... do you plug your info in to the calculator each time you make a specific batch of soap or once you have it (this one for example) do you just keep your calculations for next time?

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I almost never make the same soap twice, but if everything stayed the same I wouldn't re-calculate it. Happy making!

[@heatherjones1307]

Omg thank you thank you ❤😊

[@2MeNew2]

Thank You So So Soooo much. I have been using Brambleberry Calculator and needed to use lard for my new recipe. I could find lard on the Brambleberry site. So I went to SoapCal because it's one I hear spoken about often BUT boy was it scary looking 😂😂😂. Thank you so much for your time and energy to break this down. The awesome thing is I have the other features to learn and work with in terms of the hardness and cleansing ect. Thanks again.

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad you found this video helpful! ❤️ Don't forget to check out my blog (humblebeeandme.com)-I've been blogging for over 8.5 years while I’ve only been on KZbin for about 4, so there is TONS more content on the blog!

[@booshcockappu]

Can we find TFM from this?

[@DavidMacVicar]

If someone was doing a dual lye shave soap. Could you still do it here? There is only the option for KOH and NaOH as seperate optiond

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I've done it by calculating two batches separately and combining them (500g batch with NaOH + 500g with KOH = 1000g NaOH/KOH batch), but I'm sure there are calculators out there better suited to the task :)

[@kuzhal1411]

Nice video. Iam new to soap making. can pour raw milk or puree at trace with water discount.. and can use explain about the iodine,ins,Linoleic,Linolenic,Myristic,Oleic,Palmitic in description

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

Hey! I would recommend checking out Soap Queen to learn more about all these things :)

[@Melaninbeauty88]

How do I know how much of each ingredient I should use

[@blumerlredpilledgirl8958]

Hi, watching this to help, I’m a first timer. I bought a kit and what I got was 60 ounces of oil and the colors. No instructions, so I’m not sure if the oil contains the lye or not or anything else I might be missing. It’s a Pifito kit the $29 one.

[@laurenaltomare8992]

Very helpful. Some of these videos on soap calc just confuse me more 🙈 You made it simple!

[@HumblebeeAndMe]

I'm so glad! Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making :)